ST:FC EP00 Burdens of Command, Part I
by GM Grantham
Summary: Trip learns more about the responsibilities and burdens of captaining a starship than he ever thought he would as he attempts to lead his crew while trying to keep the ship from falling apart. Hiatus!


**_Star Trek: First Command_ Series**

**By:** ginamr

**Summary:** After the events of _Storm Front, Part II_, Commander Trip Tucker is given command of an old Warp Four ship, which has been reconstructed to fit the specifications of the NX class.

**Author's Note**: My inspiration to go for something different for Trip and T'Pol comes from the **_A Twist of Fate_ **series by John O. I just love your series, by the way, John. Just love it. Can't wait for future installments.

**THIS IS NOT _STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE. _THIS IS _STAR TREK: FIRST COMMAND_. IF YOU'RE EXPECTING THIS TO BE EXACTLY LIKE _STAR TREK:_ _ENTERPRISE_, I'LL CAUTION YOU NOW...IT'S NOT. IT'S ONLY A FANFICTION SERIES BASED OFF OF A FEW OF _ENTERPRISE_'S CANON CHARACTERS AND A BIT OF ITS STORYLINE. **

**THIS IS A SPIN-OFF. OTHER _ENTERPRISE _CHARACTERSWILL BE BROUGHT IN TO THE STORYLINE FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT THIS IS A TRIP/T'POL-CENTERED SERIES.**

Also, the behind-the-scenes character of Crewman Erickson is dedicated to Donald M. Erickson, devoted father and former principal of Falcon Hill Elementary, who passed away a year or so ago from heart complications. He was a strong, caring man and he is missed.

And thirdly, my series puts _Columbia _as the NX-03 instead of the NX-02.

**Disclaimer:** **_NONE OF STAR TREK BELONGS TO ME. GENE RODDENBERRY GETS CREDIT FOR EVERYTHING TREK AND PARAMOUNT GETS CREDIT FOR ALL CANON CHARACTERS._**

**Episode 00: _Burdens of Command, Part I_**—Trip learns more about the responsibilities and burdens of captaining a starship than he ever thought he would as he attempts to lead his crew while trying to keep the ship from falling apart.

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**Major Characters:**

**Captain Charles "Trip" Tucker III**—age 35, Commanding Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy **(CANON CHARACTER)**_

**Commander T'Pol**—age 65 (Vulcan years), First Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy **(CANON CHARACTER)**_

**Commander Alexander "Alex" Brady**—Chief Engineer of the NX-02 _Legacy_

**Lt. Cmdr. Olivia Jane Martin**—Comm/Ops Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy_

**Lt. Cmdr. Habib Elias Basir**—Armory Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy_ **NOTE:** I am in no way implying that _EVERYONE_ from Afghanistan is like this character.

**Ensign Casia "Casi" Davis**—helmswoman of the NX-02 _Legacy_

**Doctor (Lt.) T'Val**—Chief Medical Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy_

* * *

**Captain's Log, Stardate—May 14th, 2154**

_This is my first official log as Cap'n and my first log as Commandin' Officer of the NX-02 _Legacy. _Brady, _Legacy_'s Chief Engineer, is still ironin' out some of the kinks from the engine refit; Basir, _Legacy_'s Armory Officer, is workin' on gettin' the new phase cannons calibrated; and T'Pol is workin' to update the Vulcan database before we ship out. With any luck, we'll be leavin' port within the next few days ready and rarin' to go._

_------------------------------------_

_**Captain's Ready Room, 1035 hours**_

The door chime sounded and Trip looked up from the stack of reports he'd been reading. "Come in."

He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his features as the doors parted, allowing T'Pol to enter.

"I have entered the revised contents into the ship's computers and have been asked by Lieutenant Commander Martin to deliver the details of our first mission, which we have just received from Admiral Forrest."

Trip nodded, taking the pad and skimming it before setting it aside and returning his attention to her. "I still can' believe ya turned down command of the _Pegasus_ for an XO position."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "I am needed here."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you are."

"Additionally, was not our intention to further explore an intimate relationship?"

He grinned. "Yeah, but the Starfleet bureaucrats can't know that. Fraternization policies and all."

She nodded. "We will simply have to be vigilant."

Again, he chuckled. "I'm already feelin' like a kid sneakin' out in the middle of the night to see his girlfriend, prayin' his folks don't catch him."

T'Pol tilted her head slightly in acknowledgement of the comparison. "It is rather…exhilarating."

"Now all we need ta do is work on that sense of humor of yours, darlin'," he teased.

"That will no doubt be more time-consuming than your previous lesson."

Trip was just about to reply when the comm beeped. He pressed his thumb to the button before replying.

"Tucker."

"Sir." It was Commander Brady. "We're having a bit of trouble bringing the warp coils online. I know you're busy doing other things, but I could use another pair of eyes down here, especially ones as experienced as yours."

Trip sighed. "I'm on my way. Tucker out."

He turned to T'Pol and she nodded in response to his unasked question. He offered a grin of thanks before standing and exiting the ready room.

_------------------------------------_

_**Main Engineering, A few moments later… **_

"What's the problem?" Trip asked as he approached the tall, gangly engineer.

Brady grunted in frustration. "I can't get the coils to align close enough to the suggested calibration."

Trip dropped to one knee, peering at the circuitry inside the panel as well as at the warp coils. Trip sighed, his eyes rolling skyward. "No wonder. They gave you the older series coils. You can't get these damned things that accurate. Your goin' to need the newer series coils to get her at peak efficiency."

Brady frowned, attempting to suppress his embarrassment at not having recognized that himself. "Sir…"

Trip shook his head. "I know what your goin' to say, Brady. It's alright. I made the same mistake when I was tryin' to get _Enterprise_ up and runnin'."

Brady looked at him disbelievingly. "You did?"

Trip nodded. "Don't be too hard on yourself," he said, clapping the Engineer on the shoulder. "Just know better for next time."

Brady nodded vigorously. "I will, sir."

With this, Trip strode to the other side of the large room, staring nostalgically at the door to the Chief Engineer's office.

"You didn't, did you?"

Trip turned to find Olivia standing behind him with her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised in a look that reminded him very much of T'Pol in the early days of their friendship, a look that she still gave him when she caught him in a fib.

He grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, but Brady doesn' need ta know that," he said in a quiet voice. "Besides, it's good for him to know that even the experts make mistakes."

Olivia grinned and shook her head. "Sir, with all due respect, that fibbing tongue of yours is going to get you into a hell of a mess one of these days."

He chuckled. "Oh, it already has. On more than one occasion, if I recall."

She smiled, inclining her head. "Now that's a story I'd love to hear."

He paused, tongue in cheek, pretending to think. "Maybe another time."

She nodded. "Another time."

"It looks like we're goin' to need Starfleet to send up the right coils."

Olivia grinned. "I'm sure Commander Brady will have the request prepared within the hour."

Trip nodded. "What are you doin' down here in the bowels anyway?"

"I've just been relieved. I took the graveyard shift from Crewman Erickson yesterday so he could catch some shut-eye. He'd pulled two full shifts and looked about ready to collapse. I thought I'd take a self-guided tour…familiarize myself with the ship."

Trip shook his head. "It's way too early for someone to have this much energy. Should be a crime to wake up as energetic as you do."

"It's called an early morning jog, _sir_. You should try it."

He grinned. "Doesn' seem ta help me much. Now coffee…that wakes me up on the spot."

After a few moments of silence, the two parted company, he heading toward the bridge and she heading toward the Mess for a late breakfast.

_------------------------------------_

_**Captain's Mess, 1902 hours**_

"Alright. I'd just like to start off sayin' what a first-rate job y'all have been doin' tryin' to get the _Legacy_ in tip-top shape for our first mission. And second, I invited ya'll to dinner not just so I could hear about the updates on your progress face ta face, but to get to know y'all a little better. Alright, why don' we start with you, T'Pol? Anythin' new to report?"

She nodded. "I have searched the Vulcan database for information on the planet as you requested."

"Go ahead."

She handed a pad to everyone, keeping one for herself. "The civilization is fairly advanced, though not as technologically advanced as Starfleet. They broke the warp one barrier approximately two years ago and continue to explore within their own system. They are known as the Re'ol. Though normally a passive people, they will defend themselves if threatened."

Trip grinned. "Sounds a lot like us."

T'Pol nodded, acknowledging the observation. "They are an equal, polyandrous culture, believing in the bonding of more than two individuals to one another. The closest comparison that could be made as far as describing their appearance would be that of a humanoid sloth. Their sweat is secreted as an extremely strong anesthetic that temporarily disables the conscious thought process."

"In other words," Casi began. "…it's like knockout gas."

T'Pol raised her eyebrows and nodded. "That would be an accurate description."

Trip nodded. "Good to know." He then turned to Olivia. "What've you got for us?"

"I've managed to enter several new languages, including the little Re'ol dialect we have from the Vulcan database, into the UT. There's still a couple of kinks to work out, but I have no doubt that first contact will smooth that out."

He then turned to Brady. "Brady? How're the engines comin' along?"

"Now that we have the right coils, everything's going smooth as silk. We should have the engines up and running by oh eight hundred tomorrow morning."

Trip nodded, turning to Basir. "What about the phase canons, Basir? They about ready to go?"

Basir inclined his head. "They should also be ready by oh eight hundred hours tomorrow."

The man reminded him of how Malcolm had been at first and something about his callous reply rubbed him the wrong way. He could tell that he and this Armory Officer were going to butt heads and often, generally because the man didn't seem too keen on the way Trip ran things and he especially seemed to despise the placement of two Vulcans onto a Human starship.

Trip sighed internally, remembering how he'd felt when he'd first found out T'Pol had been assigned to _Enterprise_ as first officer. He could understand why Basir would be resentful of T'Pol especially.

Had it not been for her assignment to the XO position, he would have received a promotion to full Commander and the first officer position. His resentment seemed now to extend to all Vulcans, as he gave T'Val as well as T'Pol dirty looks when he thought Trip wasn't looking. Trip then turned to the Doctor, asking for her progress report.

"Doctor?"

"The Medical Bay has received all supplies and is prepared for departure from spacedock, Captain."

Trip grinned, rubbing his hands together. "Now that business is taken care of, let's eat."

At this precise moment, the steward entered with two pitchers of water and several glasses, setting them down on the table, then taking down their orders for dinner.

T'Pol's eyebrows shot up when the Vulcan Doctor hesitated before ordering the same adventurous dish of vegetarian spaghetti as she and Trip grinned amusedly. He'd known upon choosing T'Val to fill the Chief Medical Officer slot that the Vulcan woman idolized T'Pol, though that wasn't how the Vulcan had put it.

"A more accurate explanation would be that I find her precedent work record quite agreeable to my goals," she'd said.

To Trip, that was the Vulcan equivalent of hero (or in this case, heroine) worship.

River smiled. "Anything to drink with your meals besides water?" he asked.

"Mint tea would be agreeable," T'Val replied.

T'Pol inclined her head. "I would prefer chamomile if it is available."

River grinned and nodded. "Aye, lass. 'Tis available."

Trip paused, considering. "You know what? I think I'll try some of that chamomile tea."

River nodded again, waiting for the others.

"I will 'ave strong, black coffee, thank you," Basir replied.

Casi, Olivia, and Brady shook their heads. "Just water, thanks."

With a grin and a nod, River exited the room to get their meals started.

"So, Commander Basir…your personnel file says you were a Major in the Navy for a couple of years before you attended the Academy."

Basir nodded. "Yes, sir."

"I have a friend whose dad tried to get him to join the Royal Navy instead of joining Starfleet. What exactly is it you did in the Navy?"

Basir frowned slightly. "My past work is classified, sir."

Trip nodded, looking back down at his meal. The attempt to crack into the man's shell was failing miserably, as it had at first with Malcolm. But he was patient. If it took even half as long to get this man to mellow out, he would have no problem waiting it out.

"The Stallions beat the Hurricane 15 to 8 in the Water Polo semi-finals," Olivia offered, attempting to break through the layer of awkwardness that had settled over the room.

Trip looked up, grinning. "It looks like Jon owes me fifty credits. Did you get the game on data chip?"

Olivia nodded, smirking. "Yes, sir."

"Great! Brady, Olivia, Casi, T'Pol…why don't y'all come by my quarters later and we can watch the match?" He turned to the Armory Officer. "What about you, Basir? Do you follow water polo?"

"No, sir."

Trip frowned slightly. "Well, why don't you come by anyway? We'll make a party out of it."

"Thank you for the offer, sir, but I have work I should finish after my meal."

Trip nodded, turning to T'Val. "What about you, Doc? Want to watch a water polo match?"

T'Val raised an eyebrow. "Your offer sounds most intriguing, Captain. I accept."

He grinned. "Great. Does 2100 hours sound good to everybody?"

All but Basir nodded.

"I can't wait," Olivia offered, grinning.

"Neither can I," Casi said excitedly.

_------------------------------------_

**_Captain's Ready Room, 0735 hours _**

Archer grimaced. "Damn. I thought for sure that the Hurricane would make the finals this year."

Trip grinned. "Jon, they haven' made the finals in three years."

Archer sighed. "Can you wait until **_AFTER_** I've taken Erika to dinner?"

"Run into her at the 602 Club?"

Archer frowned. "Yeah, how did you know?"

He grinned. "Straight from the horse's mouth. She sent me a communiqué yesterday afternoon."

Archer shook his head. "So could you wait another day for the credits?"

Trip chuckled. "Alright. I know you're good for your word. You two kids have fun."

"We will. So how're those repairs coming along?"

"We should be out of here by 0900 hours."

Archer chuckled. "Good luck, _Captain._"

"Thanks, Jon. See you when I see you."

With this, Trip cut the comm.

_------------------------------------_

_**Bridge, 0857 hours**_

Trip paced back and forth, unable to keep still from the anticipation of the launch. He was eager to hear the hum of the engines again as the ship cruised along at warp speed. Being here on the bridge was a new experience as he was usually the one down in the bowels, making sure a power conduit didn't rupture or a faulty warp coil didn't short out the system.

There was a nearly unbearable excitement that ran through to the very bones of his body in being the man that would give the order, initiating this fine ship's maiden voyage. Jon had told him a bit about what to expect, but nothing could compare to feeling it for himself.

He looked up at T'Pol for the tenth time in the last three minutes, seeking the comfort her calm features often brought when he felt uneasy. A smile curved his lips as he saw her expression soften and give an upward tilt of her lips so slight that only he could have recognized it for what she meant it to be.

The gesture calmed him slightly but still he paced as the excitement approached its crescendo. He had half a mind to order them out of dock, 0900 or not. The suspense was driving him up the wall and he wanted like hell to get on course for the Re'ol homeworld.

He hadn't been this antsy since his solo at the county fair; but even the worries of a little boy who had begun undergoing the changes of puberty just a day or so before going on stage couldn't compare to the stress he was feeling now.

He was beginning to wish he'd taken T'Pol up on her neuropressure offer after they'd finished watching the game. It had been late and he'd been worried that it would go further than a little relaxation therapy (as it usually did these days).

"Sir, we're receiving the go-ahead from spacedock. Everything checks out," Olivia informed him.

Trip sighed. "Thank the Lord. All that waitin' was driving me seven ways to Sunday," he muttered. He turned to Casi, nodding. "Take us out, Ensign. Nice and easy. We don't want to scratch the paint just yet."

Casi grinned at the comment, her fingers expertly grazing the controls of the helm. "Aye, sir. Engaged at one-quarter impulse. Taking us out."

Trip's nerves began to subside immediately as the deck shuddered beneath his feet and the sides of the dock disappeared from view. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost imagine himself flying amongst the stars without the aid of a starship.

"Fly, baby, fly," he said softly.

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_**Flashback…**_

_A fifteen-year-old Trip grunted in frustration. "Damn piece of…" he began, tossing the controller aside._

"_Trip Tucker, you watch your language!" an eleven year old Lizzie chastised._

_He couldn't help the grin that spread across his features. "You're one ta talk, Miss Pottymouth."_

_She put her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at him. "At least I don' ever let Mama catch me."_

_He chuckled. "Real mature, Lizzie."_

_She narrowed her eyes at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Watcha cussin' about anyhow?"_

"_I can' get this piece of sh…I mean junk…to fly right."_

_Lizzie moved forward, taking a good look at the toy spaceship. "Ya crossed the wires here. Ya've got the fuel line and the power source wire switched."_

_Trip looked at what she was pointing to and frowned. "What do ya know about starships anyhow?"_

_She rolled her eyes. "Anybody with brains can see ya did a half-baked job on the last bit of the installations. Ya were eager to get her flyin' no doubt."_

_He snorted. "Well, no sh…no kiddin'. I've only been workin' on this thing for four months."_

_Lizzie grinned. "Well, if ya fix those two wires, she'll be all set."_

_Trip nodded, kneeling down to flip the toy space craft and rewire it with his tools._

"_What do ya carry those darned things around for?"_

_Trip raised his eyebrows at her. "One of these days, my habit of carrying tools in my pocket is goin' ta pay off. You watch."_

_Lizzie snorted. "Goin' ta save the day with your wirecutters, are ya? I'll believe that when I see it."_

"_There. That should just about do it."_

_With this, he turned the craft back over and put it on its feet. He then reached for the controller, putting the tools back in his pocket, and took a deep breath._

"_Here goes." _

_He pushed forward slightly on the control stick and he watched, excited as the craft lifted off the ground. Soon, he had it flying around the meadow and swooping just over their heads._

"_Yee-haw! Fly, baby, fly!"_

_**End Flashback**_

----------

"Fly, baby, fly," he whispered again.

"We've cleared spacedock, sir," Casi reported.

Trip grinned. "Set a course for the Re'ol homeworld, Ensign. Warp Five."

Casi nodded again, entering the instructions into the helm. "Aye, sir. Course set. Awaiting your order."

Trip nodded, still grinning. "Engage."

The computer chirped in acknowledgement as Casi entered the final command.

"Warp three point eight, sir. Four point one…four point four…"

The deck began shaking a little more violently beneath their feet and Casi was poised, ready to reduce speed if the stress on the hull became too much.

"Hold her steady, Ensign."

"Four point seven…four point nine…"

As the ship reached Warp five, the quaking drew to a halt and there was silence among the bridge crew.

Casi grinned. "Warp five achieved, sir, and holding."

At last, Trip was able to relax with the ship moving, almost as though he was next to the engines in the bowels, hearing their gentle hum as they worked.

"If anybody needs me, I'll be in my quarters catchin' up on some sleep. T'Pol, you have the bridge."

T'Pol nodded, taking his place as he entered the lift.

_------------------------------------_

**Captain's Log, Stardate—May 15th, 2154**

_The engine refitting worked and we managed to hold warp five for just about four hours, kicking back at warp four point five for the last eight hours. We've arrived at the edge of the Nivara system and have dropped to Warp One. We should be in orbit of the Re'ol homeworld within the hour._

_------------------------------------_

_**Bridge, 2134 hours**_

"We've reached the planet, sir."

Trip nodded. "Put us in standard geosynchronous orbit, Ensign." He turned to Olivia. "Contact the First Minister and inform him of our arrival."

Olivia nodded, entering the commands. "Aye, sir. Receiving a response."

"Put it through."

Trip smiled in greeting as the older sloth-like humanoid appeared on the view screen, smiling as well.

"First Minister. I'm Captain Charles Tucker of the _Legacy_."

The slothman inclined his head in greeting. "A pleasure, Captain. We have been preparing for your visit. My people are excited at the prospect of meeting a new race."

"So are we, First Minister."

"We have prepared a feast in your honor to be held tomorrow afternoon."

He nodded. "That should give us a chance to talk about an alliance."

The Minister grinned, nodding. "Most agreeable, Captain. In the meantime, you are more than welcome to bring a small team to explore our city."

Looking around at his bridge crew, eyebrows raised in question, he received grins or nods of approval from each of them. He then turned back to the first Minister, offering a nod of his own. "We appreciate the offer. Thank you."

"Oh, it is our pleasure. We will see you soon, Captain Tucker."

The comm was then cut and Trip lowered himself into the Captain's chair, sighing. "Casi, have them get a shuttlepod ready. It looks like we'll be gettin' a bit of a break a lot sooner than we thought."

The helmswoman leapt up from her station and headed excitedly toward the Launch Bay.

**TBC…**

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope you all are liking this series so far. This is my pilot. I want to see if it takes off here before I put too much into it. So at this stage, reviews, comments, etc. are VERY IMPORTANT. Don't hold back. Though please do make any criticism constructive. I want to know why you were thinking what you were as you read. PLEASE LET ME GET A LITTLE INSIDE YOUR HEAD ON THIS!! 


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